Note 93 — Chapter IV

Memoirs of George the Second, vol. i. p. 242. It is ably drawn, and not unkindly, considering the belief long entertained by the Whigs of the Duke having betrayed Sir Robert Walpole. The more favourable portrait given by Archdeacon Coxe, from materials supplied by his family, is, like too many family portraits, feeble, flattering, and indistinct. His Grace unquestionably possessed a powerful, active, and cultivated mind. He had studied, and thoroughly understood the weaknesses of men, and was unscrupulous in the practice of all the arts of intrigue. Success usually crowned his efforts, and notwithstanding the various changes of Government, he maintained much of his power to the last. Disappointment attended only his private life, which was chilled by aversion to his wife and the want of children. Il fut riche, il fut titré, mais il ne fut point heureux—the just and natural result of a line of conduct which, as Lord Mahon correctly observes, was seldom on any occasion swayed either by virtue or generosity.—Coxe’s Life of Sir R. Walpole, vol. iv. p. 236; Mahon’s Hist. vol. iii. p. 237.—E.